Philippine rebels accused of violating HR

REBELS belonging to the New People's Army (NPA) have again shown disregard for Human rights when they abducted six inspectors of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), a Philippine military official said Monday. Capt. Alberto Caber, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson, said the rebels violated the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHIHL), which it signed together with the Government of the Philippines. "It's a violation of the CARHIHL as they (rebels) deliberately targeted civilians. This is another blatant human right abuse committed by the NPAs and we are requesting peace and human rights advocate to closely monitor this incident to ensure that the victims will be release immediately," Caber said. CARHIHL stipulates that civilians shall be distinguished from combatants, shall not be the object of attacks. Caber said the NPA decision to abduct the DENR inspectors was triggered by the information that the victims were allegedly using a drone in their validation work in the ongoing National Greening Program in New Leyte Village, Maco town, Compostela Valley when snatched by the suspects 2:00 p.m. Friday. He added that the rebels thought that the six were illegal loggers and using the drone to identify trees to cut up. Caber said the search is focused on the Maco town environs as of this posting. The survey inspectors were identified as Kendrik Wong, Nico Lasaca, Chris Favila, Matthew Cua, Jonas Loredo and Tim Sabina.

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